Category: Southeast Asia

The Strait Test: How the Hormuz Crisis Reframed China’s Energy Offer for SE Asia

The Two Sessions, China’s most important annual political gathering, where leaders unveil economic targets and policy priorities, closed in Beijing earlier this month just as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran was intensifying. The timing was not coincidental. The 15th Five-Year ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Three New Polls Show China is Edging Past the U.S. as the World’s Partner

Worry about the Trump administration’s decision-making is leading the public around the world to see China as an increasingly attractive counter-option. This is the main takeaway from three large public opinion polls released recently.
The annual Gallup poll of 130 countries is the largest of the three. They also include new Arab Barometer polling of countries in the Middle East, and an annual ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute poll of Southeast Asia.

Get ...

Vietnam’s Top Leader to Lam Consolidates Power, Gets China-Style Mandate

By Khanh Vu, Phuong Nguyen, and Francesco Guarascio Vietnam's lawmakers unanimously elected Communist Party Secretary General To Lam as the country's state president for the next five years, a parliament official said after Tuesday's vote. ...

Myth and Misperception: Does Vietnam Need a U.S. Security Guarantee to Deter China?

In this edition of M&M, I want to examine one of the most common claims not only in Vietnam’s foreign policy circle but also in that of the United States. The United States is a Pacific power with an extensive network of alliances and bases across the ...

Vietnam and China Lay the Tracks for Deeper Trade Connectivity

By Duan Haosheng On 19 December 2025, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son pressed the ceremonial start button to launch the Lao Cai–Hanoi–Hai Phong railway. The 390-kilometre railway, backed by 

China Warns U.S. Against Building Ammunition Facility in Philippines

China warned the United States on Thursday against bringing "conflict and the chaos of war" to the Asia-Pacific, after Washington and its allies said they would weigh building a weapons base in the Philippines. A U.S.-led intergovernmental defence group agreed last ...

The Chinese Kingpin at the Center of Cambodia’s Crackdown on Scammers

The Cambodian government is leading a massive, unprecedented crackdown on the scamming business that once accounted for an estimated one-third of the country's GDP. For the past six months, heavily armed security forces have raided scam centers across the country and ...

Cambodia Turns to Singapore, Malaysia for Fuel as Vietnam, China Restrict Supplies

Cambodia is importing more fuel from suppliers in Singapore and Malaysia to make up for supply shortfalls from Vietnam and China, its energy minister told Reuters on Wednesday, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran squeezes fuel ...

How the Strait of Hormuz Disruption Exposed Southeast Asia’s Fragile LNG Strategy

Conflict in the Middle East has only intensified over the past two years. The recent disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most critical energy chokepoint, has sent shockwaves across Southeast Asia, a region heavily dependent on fossil fuel imports.  ...

Indonesia Seeks to Diversify Partners for Its New Rare Earth Industry but Moving Away From China Will Be Difficult

Indonesia sits on a geological treasure trove of rare earth minerals, and the government is eager to tap into the wealth they could bring. While it knows how to find, mine, and sell the highly sought-after critical materials, it confronts a ...

China Steps In as Malaysia’s Data Center Surge Puts the Power Grid to the Test

Since 2024, Malaysia has emerged as a main data center hub in ASEAN, challenging Singapore’s long-standing dominance. As of early 2026, Malaysia has 34 existing data centers with 33 upcoming, according to data from the Malaysia Digital Investment Department.  However, ...

The Three Faces of Chinese Investment in Southeast Asia: SOEs, POEs, and MNEs

In 2025, China remained a top-three source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Southeast Asia, following only the U.S. and intra-Southeast Asian flows. While much of the investment falls under the umbrella of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it is important to distinguish between broad ...

Chinese Think Tank Calls Myanmar Vote a ‘Fake Election’ but Sees Strategic Gains for Beijing

In a rare blunt assessment, an analysis from China’s prominent state-backed think tank, The Institute for International Affairs in Qianhai, a district of Shenzhen in southern China, denounced Myanmar’s general election under military rule last month, saying the process lacked legitimacy and would do nothing ...

Sara Duterte’s Presidential Run Signals Possible Philippines Shift From Washington to Beijing

By Mikhail Flores Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said on Wednesday that she will run for president in the 2028 elections while blaming incumbent leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr for the country's problems, including corruption. The ...
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